Grab One for the Road Six for the Trail

Oskar Blues is the official beer sponsor of NAHBS.

About ten years ago, Oskar Blues distinguished itself as a trend-setter by putting their Dale’s Pale Ale craft beer in a can instead of a bottle. Oskar Blues believes cans keep beer fresher, longer because a can isn’t translucent so it won’t permit harmful rays of light to affect the beer inside. And besides, cans are easily recyclable and infinitely more portable than bottles, especially while out on a mountain bike ride.

Now this is where it gets interesting. One day a few years back, Dale Katechis [the Dale of Dale’s Pale Ale] had his bike stolen. Dale’s an avid bike enthusiast and single-speeder, so he decided to start his own bike company, Reeb Cycles. Craft beer and custom bikes are a natural match of goodness, at least to this writer, but this pairing as a business model seem highly unlikely, and just plain odd, but in much the same way Oskar Blues broke the mold by putting craft beer in a can, through Reeb they’re also breaking the boundaries of traditional business.

Reeb Cycles builds handmade bicycle frames in Colorado using 100% American made True Temper OX Platinum tubing with Paragon dropouts for lots of drivetrain options. Reeb offers three models: The SFP, a straight-up hard-tail 29er; the REEBdonkadonk, a fat bike; and The Sam’s Pants, their gravel/monstercross bike.

Much like Reeb has three models of bike on display under the tent on the showroom floor, they also feature three craft brews for NAHBS-goers to sample and enjoy: Dale’s Pale Ale, Old Chub Scottish Ale, and Mama’s Little Yella Pils – which earned best in show from this beer drinker.